Johnny Depp appears at UK premiere of Saudi-backed film ‘Jeanne du Barry’
Updated 17 April 2024
Arab News
DUBAI: US actor Johnny Depp said he felt “strangely, oddly, perversely lucky” to have been offered the role of French King Louis XV at the UK premiere of his new film “Jeanne du Barry.”
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival Foundation provided post-production support for the period drama, marking the first time the foundation co-produced a French movie.
Depp was accompanied by the film’s co-star and director Maïwenn on stage at the Curzon theater in Mayfair, where the duo briefly introduced the film.
“I feel very lucky to have been [offered the role] – strangely, oddly, perversely lucky,” he said on stage in London, according to Variety. “Because when Maïwenn and I first actually met and talked about the notion of me doing the film and playing Louis XV, the King of France — see that’s when instantly what happens in your brain is you instantly go back to Kentucky, where, like, everything is fried. So you realise that you’ve come from the bellybutton of nowhere and suddenly you end up playing the King of France.”
Shanghai man scammed of $28,000 by AI ‘girlfriend’: state media
Scammers used generative artificial intelligence software to create realistic video and still images of a young woman
Updated 9 sec ago
AFP
SHANGHAI: A man in Shanghai lost nearly $28,000 after being tricked into a long-distance “relationship” with an AI-generated girlfriend, Chinese state media reported on Wednesday.
Scammers used generative artificial intelligence software to create realistic video and still images of a young woman in order to pose as the fictional “Ms. Jiao,” according to state broadcaster CCTV.
The victim transferred nearly 200,000 yuan (nearly $28,000) to what he believed was his online lover’s bank account, after the scammers used the fake images to convince him that his “girlfriend” needed funds to open a business and help a relative with medical bills.
The scammers even created a fake ID and medical reports to support the ruse, CCTV reported.
The operation was conducted by a “scammer team sending video and photos that were all created through AI or made by combining multiple images,” CCTV said, citing a police investigation.
“Throughout the process, (the victim) Mr. Liu never met Ms. Jiao in person,” it added.
A CCTV video showed photos of a woman in different scenarios including posing with a paint palette and standing on a city street.
The emergence of AI tools able to generate convincing text, images and even live video has resulted in increasingly sophisticated scams around the world.
Earlier this month US social media behemoth Meta warned Internet users to be wary of online acquaintances promising romance but seeking cash, noting that scams making use of generative AI were on the rise.
DUBAI: Models and influencers including Halima Aden, Mariah Idrissi, and Rawdah Mohamed are set to attend the 10th edition of Modest Fashion Week from April 14-16.
This year’s edition will be held in Abu Dhabi, in the UAE, with previous iterations having been held in Istanbul, Dubai, London, Riyadh, Amsterdam, and Jakarta.
In 2025, organizers expect fashion labels from 10 countries to take part, with a schedule of masterclasses, workshops and panel discussions also on the agenda.
Think Fashion and Miral Destinations are partnering to host the event, with Liam Findlay, CEO of Miral Destinations, commenting: "Hosting the 10th edition of the Modest Fashion Week on Saadiyat Island Abu Dhabi, a globally recognized event in the fashion industry, is a significant milestone.”
The event will draw star power in the form of Aden, Mohamed and Idrissi, who have hit the catwalk for luxury brands during their careers.
Aden has walked the runway at New York Fashion Week multiple times and was also a member of the judging panel at the 72nd Miss Universe pageant in El Salvador in 2023. She shot to fame for being the first woman to wear a hijab in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant in 2016, where she was a semi-finalist.
Mariah Idrissi will attend this year's Modest Fashion Week in April. (File/ Getty Images)
Somali Norwegian model Mohamed, who has an eyewear campaign with Italian label Dolce & Gabbana under her belt, has worked with brands like Boss and H&M and is also a regular on the Cannes Film Festival red carpet in France.
Mohamed walked the Roberto Cavalli show in Dubai in 2024 and previously told Arab News that she “sort of stumbled into modeling” after a mutual friend put her in touch with her manager while she was at university studying for a degree in behavioral analysis and healthcare.
Mohamed said: “I went to a fashion show in Oslo at the end of 2018 where I met my manager. He told me about what they were doing and I went to his office for a meeting and I said I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a model but I wanted to work in fashion.”
Born in north west London to Moroccan and Pakistani parents, model Idrissi made headlines when she became the first hijab-wearing model to front a major fashion campaign for H&M in 2015.
In one image, she wears a dark oversized coat with black trousers and knee-high boots, accessorized with a muted sage green handbag.
Another image captures Elyanna in a black long-sleeve top and a voluminous pink skirt. Her hairstyle incorporates braids with metallic embellishments, and is holding a black Coach handbag with gold detailing.
Elyanna has been normalizing Arabic lyrics in the Western world throughout her career, taking inspiration from artists including Lana Del Ray and Beyonce, as well as Middle Eastern legend Fayrouz.
The Los Angeles-based singer’s music is a mix of Arabic and Western beats, which she attributes to her multicultural upbringing.
Last month, Elyanna performed live with British band Coldplay during their four-show run in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
The music sensation has previously hinted at upcoming projects this year, stating: “The sunrise and the rebirth of the ‘Woledto’ project is just (the) start for the next chapter of 2025. Arabic is the music of the soul and the sun. Grateful for all the talented people that believed in this project and helped with the vision to come to life this tour (sic).”
Elyanna’s debut album “Woledto” featured nine songs: “Woledto,” “Ganeni,” “Calling U,” “Al Sham,” “Mama Eh,” “Kon Nafsak,” “Lel Ya Lel,” “Yabn El Eh” and “Sad in Pali.”
Before releasing the album, she wrote to her Instagram followers: “This album is the embodiment of pride to be an Arab woman, to be from Nazareth, to be from the Middle East.”
Football star Mohamed Salah’s daughter stars in Ramadan TV series
Updated 25 February 2025
Arab News
DUBAI: Liverpool FC star Mohamed Salah’s daughter Makka is set to make her on- screen debut in Egyptian Ramadan TV series “Kamel El Adad 3.”
Born in 2014 in London, Makka’s role in the series was announced by director Khaled El-Halafawy, though details about her guest appearance remain under wraps.
The show is returning for its third season this Ramadan and sees stars Dina El-Sherbiny and Sherif Salama as Layla, a woman working in the cosmetics industry, and her husband Ahmed Mokhtar, a cosmetic surgeon. They live with eight children and the series follows the trials and tribulations faced by the household.
The Egyptian footballer surprised the cast of the show with a video call during filming, according to ET Bil Arabi.
Othe cast members include actors Hussein Fahmy, Engy al-Mokadem, Mariam al-Khost, Youssef Omar, and Amr Saleh.
Salah and his wife Magi share two daughers, Makka and Kayan, who was born in 2020.
LONDON: British Moroccan model Nora Attal turned heads this week at Burberry’s Winter 2025 showcase, held on Monday at London’s Tate Britain.
She donned a long black faux fur coat, cinched at the waist with a belt, with an oversized silhouette. Underneath, the catwalk star wore a matching set consisting of a brown collared top and coordinating trousers, which peeked from beneath the coat. The sleeves of the top extend slightly beyond the coat’s cuffs. The outfit was completed with brown heels.
She donned a long black faux fur coat, cinched at the waist with a belt. (Getty Images)
A star-studded cast including Naomi Campbell; actors Lesley Manville, Richard E. Grant, and Elizabeth McGovern; and Lila Moss, daughter of supermodel Kate Moss, modelled creative director Daniel Lee's fifth collection for the British brand.
Besides Attal’s coat, Burberry’s winter 2025 collection also featured leather trench coats, velvet brocade suits and equestrian styles like jodhpur trousers and high leather boots.
The catwalk was carpeted in bright blue, a colour Lee has made his trademark at Burberry, and the museum's neoclassical architecture was complemented by drapes with an impressionist prints inspired by great British landscape artists.
A star-studded cast including Naomi Campbell modelled creative director Daniel Lee's fifth collection for the British brand. (Getty Images)
The collection’s color palette of warm browns, greys and taupe also evoked the British countryside, with some red and yellow accents.
Jacquard-woven trenches and brocade jackets were inspired by the tapestries and wallpaper of stately homes, with silk pyjama shirts and trousers evoking domesticity.
“It’s that great Friday night exodus from London to the countryside for long rainy walks and to disconnect in the great outdoors,” Lee said of his inspiration for the collection.
Accessories included oversized scarves with chunky fringes and leather boots featuring Burberry's signature check.
It is the second show since CEO Joshua Schulman took the reins at Burberry and began implementing a new strategy focused on outerwear, scarves, and marketing the brand’s British heritage in a bid to turn sales around.
In keeping with its renewed emphasis on scarves, Burberry sent each guest a dark green and navy check scarf along with their invitation.
It was the closing show of London Fashion Week, the second leg of the Autumn/Winter 2025 catwalk calendar, which began in New York and will go to Milan and Paris.